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The United States and the European Commission are negotiating an agreement to establish a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Europe's planned Galileo satellite navigation system, the State Department said January 8 in advance of the next round of discussions scheduled for late January.

The United States and Europe "have an historic opportunity to create independent, cooperative systems that will provide better, more reliable service to civil users around the world," the Department said.

"An agreement on GPS/Galileo cooperation should also allow the Galileo program to meet its performance requirements while protecting U.S. and NATO national security requirements through signal separation between Galileo's services and the GPS military service (M-Code)."

Below is a State Department media note, followed by a fact sheet on GPS and Galileo:

UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE U.S. GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) AND EUROPE'S PLANNED GALILEO SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEM

During the last year the United States and the European Commission (EC) have had productive policy and technical discussions that have moved both sides closer to agreement regarding GPS and Galileo cooperation. At talks in November 2003 in The Hague, Netherlands, the European Commission proposed a signal structure for Galileo's Public Regulated Service that would resolve U.S. concerns relating to adverse impacts to allied military operations. The next round of discussions, scheduled for the end of January in Washington, will address similar factors concerning Galileo's Open Service (OS) signal structure, as well as other related civil use issues.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) managed and operated by the United States Government is used for a wide array of economic, scientific, and military applications. GPS consists of a constellation of at least 24 satellites and associated ground support facilities. The satellites emit signals that can be converted into precise positioning and timing information anywhere in the world. Over the next decade Europe plans to build a satellite navigation system of its own, known as Galileo. The United States plans to modernize the GPS satellite constellation in roughly the same timeframe. The United States and Europe therefore have an historic opportunity to create independent, cooperative systems that will provide better, more reliable service to civil users around the world.

To that end the United States and the European Commission are engaged in negotiations on an agreement to establish a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Europe's planned Galileo satellite navigation system. The United States hopes to ensure that GPS and Galileo are compatible and that their civil services are interoperable, thereby maximizing potential benefits for all civil users of satellite navigation services. An agreement on GPS/Galileo cooperation should also allow the Galileo program to meet its performance requirements while protecting U.S. and NATO national security requirements through signal separation between Galileo's services and the GPS military service (M-Code).

Following is a fact sheet on the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and the European Galileo System, issued January 8 by the U.S. Department of State:

U.S. GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM AND EUROPEAN GALILEO SYSTEM

U.S. Global Positioning System -- GPS is a dual-use system, designed to support both civil and military users. -- U.S. policy is to provide civil GPS signals worldwide free of direct user fees. -- The United States is committed to providing uninterrupted service to civil users around the world. The United States and its allies have contingency plans for denying access to satellite navigation signals to adversaries within specific areas of conflict, but to date this has never been done. GPS civil service has never been interrupted. -- The United States makes the civil GPS signal specifications available to the public at no charge, enabling businesses, scientific institutions, and government entities anywhere in the world to develop products, services, and research tools on an equal basis. -- GPS currently provides positioning data at an accuracy within 10 meters or less. Advanced techniques and augmentations allow users to obtain positioning accuracy in the millimeter range. -- New civil signals will be introduced beginning later this year or early next year. When fully operational, these added signals will increase the robustness of the civil service and improve basic accuracy within 3-5 meters. Additional upgrades are also being planned for the next generation of satellites, known as GPS III.

The European Union is building its own global navigation satellite system called Galileo, currently projected to be operational in 2008.

Galileo is slated to be a civil system that will be operated by a commercial Galileo Concessionaire.

The European Union intends to launch a full constellation of satellites that will be independent from GPS. Current plans call for Galileo to offer five services including: - An Open Service for mass market and recreational users - A Commercial Service for specialized applications, with guaranteed service - A Safety of Life Service providing higher reliability and additional integrity data - A Public Regulated Service for government-approved users - A Search and Rescue Service

The United States and the European Commission are negotiating an agreement to establish a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Europe's planned Galileo satellite navigation system, the State Department said January 8 in advance of the next round of discussions scheduled for late January. The United States and Europe "have an historic opportunity to create independent, cooperative systems that will provide better, more reliable service to civil users around the world," the Department said. "An agreement on GPS/Galileo cooperation should also allow the Galileo program to meet its performance requirements while protecting U.S. and NATO national security requirements through signal separation between Galileo's services and the GPS military service (M-Code)."